1. Write the claim that you need to prove in the following form: "for all n >=1, ... ". Call the part denoted by ellipses, which contains n, by P(n). This is the induction statement, or the induction hypothesis (IH). Note that for each particular n, P(n) is not a number; it is a proposition that is either true or false.

2. Prove P(1). This is the base case.

3. Prove "for all n, P(n) implies P(n+1)". For this, fix an arbitrary n and assume P(n) (that's why it is called the IH). Use it to prove P(n+1).